Its not always the way we expect...

Lyrics below from Andrew Peterson's Behold The Lamb of God..
It was not a silent night
There was blood on the ground
You could hear a woman cry
In the alleyways that night
On the streets of David's town

And the stable was not clean
And the cobblestones were cold
And little Mary full of grace
With the tears upon her face
Had no mother's hand to hold

It was a labor of pain
It was a cold sky above
But for the girl on the ground in the dark
With every beat of her beautiful heart
It was a labor of love

Noble Joseph at her side
Callused hands and weary eyes
There were no midwives to be found
In the streets of David's town
In the middle of the night

So he held her and he prayed
Shafts of moonlight on his face
But the baby in her womb
He was the maker of the moon
He was the Author of the faith
That could make the mountains move

It was a labor of pain
It was a cold sky above
But for the girl on the ground in the dark
With every beat of her beautiful heart
It was a labor of love
For little Mary full of grace
With the tears upon her face
It was a labor of love

We usually intend to go into the holiday season with a great attitude and that everything will go just the way WE want (cooperative kids, gift items found with ease..preferably on sale :), and just a general sense of the way it 'ought' to be). However, even the best laid plans usually do not turn out the way we plan. However, God's plan is the greatest plan of all through the life of His son Jesus which is the reason as we should not forget what all of this Christmas is and should be about. If nothing else gets done, Jesus was still born, we still celebrate HIS birthday and all of the other 'stuff' is just that...stuff. I am not saying that I didn't purchase, wrap, ship the gifts, I'll make the dinner, and most of all, I will see joy in the eyes of my children which will make all of the "work" worth it. Just as Mary did not expect to have her baby in a manger, in the end, it was all worth the labor of love to be able to hold the maker of the moon and the author of the faith. And for that reason, we'll do it all again, year after year, celebrating the greatest story ever told and perhaps seeing just a glimpse of the joy that must've been felt that night that changed our lives forever.

Santa, God, & Christmas

Most people when they think of Santa do not think of God in the same thought. I will admit, I usually did not either. However, this morning, I have really been able to put them all together. We went to visit Santa on Friday night at Crown Center, downtown Kansas City. We waited in a line that seemed to take forever, and I sat in amazement at the people in front of us, who had a 2 week old baby with them. Seriously people, he is NOT going to remember visiting Santa. After our long line experience, the kids had their chance to sit on Santa's lap. Adam hopped right up there and gave a nice Hello, and the kids began to answer his questions, of what do you want Santa to bring you for Christmas? Emma mentioned her desire for a set of walkie talkies, and Luke mentioned his love for a robot (that he has seen at Bed Bath & Beyond) Adam could not quite answer the question. Hmmmm, back to the robot. Yeah, its $70 and it may not arrive on Christmas morning, I have this feeling that Santa has other plans for our family on the anticipated Christmas morning. When the conversation was brought up yet again this morning, it dawned on me...there are times when we ask God for things in prayer and they just do not happen the way WE would like, His plan is something different for our family. I attempted to explain that even if Santa does not bring the items that we ask for, he is still good, just like God is good, even when he does not answer our prayers the way we want. It pretty much fell on deaf ears and it was more of a pass the Cheerios moment, but hopefully we'll have an opportunity to explore this topic more throughout the week. And I have this feeling that Santa will deliver this week and that our wishes and desires will be fulfilled.....maybe not the way we planned.

How will I "Add to the Beauty"?

Below are lyrics from Sara Groves "Add to the Beauty"
We come with beautiful secrets
We come with purposes written on our hearts, written on our souls
We come to every new morning
With possibilities only we can hold, that only we can hold

Redemption comes in strange place, small spaces
Calling out the best of who we are

And I want to add to the beauty
To tell a better story
I want to shine with the light
That's burning up inside

It comes in small inspirations
It brings redemption to life and work
To our lives and our work

It comes in loving community
It comes in helping a soul find it's worth

Redemption comes in strange places, small spaces
Calling out the best of who we are

And I want to add to the beauty
To tell a better story
I want to shine with the light
That's burning up inside

This is grace, an invitation to be beautiful
This is grace, an invitation

Redemption comes in strange places, small spaces
Calling out our best

And I want to add to the beauty
To tell a better story
I want to shine with the light
That's burning up inside

We have found ourselves full of the "busy" of the Christmas season. I am hoping to "Add to the Beauty" this Chrismas season within our family. I, like many, have found myself caught up in the consumerism of Christmas; managing check lists, purchasing gifts for family members, and finding the time to hide the gifts, only to get them out and wrap them up after the kids go to bed. I so want to hear my kids say, " I love Christmas, because that is when we celebrate the birth of our Savior." However, today, I heard, " I just love Christmas, because that is when we get presents!" Hmmm, we have some work to do that has nothing to do with how much money I spend on a gift for someone, what is on their list, etc., it has everything to do with the shaping of their hearts. We are making some progress though, after I found Luke counting the number of gifts he had under the tree and measuring the size of the boxes, I asked him how many gifts Jesus received when he was born. He thought and eventually came up with the right answer, whichw as 3. Then I followed up the question with "how many gifts do you think we deserve for Christmas?" His answer was a quick, "None." While he is probably right, it lead me to explain that no matter what we have wrapped up for us in a pretty package, it is more than we deserve and that no matter what, the birth of Jesus is the most important gift we all have received. My goal is to have all of my shopping and wrapping done by Thursday, the 18th. The kids are out of school from the 19th through the 7th of January. I want to enjoy this Advent season with them and for them to stop, enjoy and appreciate all the Christmas season has to offer.

Mean Girls....

I was never a big fan of the mean girls when I was growing up and distinctly remember the uncomfortable feeling when the mean girls were mean to someone at school; even if I wasn't friends with them. Now that I am a mother, I want to make sure that my daughter does not become a mean girl and is always a good friend. One thing about Emma is that she is a talker and she will tell me anything. I desperately want to protect this relationship and the trust we have with one another so that when situations get harder as she is growing up, she will always feel comfortable coming to talk to me. Growing up, I would often talk to my sisters and because Emma is the only girl in our family, I want her to be able to talk to me, not that I want to be her sister, but I want her to trust me. Today after school, Emma told me that there was a girl at school who was or in her words...is always...mean to her. Of course my first instinct was to fight...I can take down that 6 year old..you just watch me! Then I flashed back toward reality and asked Emma what the circumstances were and what she thought she should do about it. Her response was great, she told me of several instances of altercations with this child and trust me, Emma is not always innocent of all crimes as we see daily here at home. But in this case it was regarding whether or not Emma was lying or cheating at school. She said she didn't get too upset, because she knew it was not true. How great is that? I would like to have that response to most things in my life. If someone says something about me that I know is not true, God knows the truth and that is all that atters. Emma agreed that she would keep her interaction with this girl to a minimum and then she would not have a reason to be mean to her and after all of the conversation was done, she said, "Mom, is it ok, if we keep this just between us?" Again, I hope she always comes to me with situations and I pray that she continues to keep her eyes on God and trust that He has the truth. How I wish this was the last of the mean girl episodes...but fear they may just be starting. Ugh..she's only 6!